


Taking on a Challenge

by Caiti (Caitriona_3)



Series: Mythology March [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Mythology - Freeform, mythology march
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 02:19:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14226972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitriona_3/pseuds/Caiti
Summary: Nothing much surprised a St. Dismas girl.





	Taking on a Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> Things got crazy at work and then my grandfather fell ill before passing away. 
> 
> Tumblr prompt for Mythology March - ureeber asked for Darcy/Bucky & Witch --- This did not at all go the way I planned, but hopefully you enjoy. (It kind of became a big part Darcy & Pepper)
> 
> Semi inspired by St. Trinian's as well as an alternate universe where the supernatural is generally known.
> 
> Art by galahadsgurl

[ ](https://imgur.com/Q431lws)

Nothing much surprised a St. Dismas girl. Growing up surrounded by the rich, brilliant, and magical - not to mention ridiculously dangerous - meant they learned from the best teacher of all: experience. Witches, psychics, geniuses . . . St. Dismas School for Gifted Girls had it all. If a girl survived to graduate from that school, then they should be able to handle any of life’s little upheavals. Every single alumna she'd ever met lived out the school motto - "I shall either find a way or make one." It probably should have been a warning to the world about the women themselves; the quote **did** come from one of the greatest military commanders in history.

Aliens falling from the sky, the real life M.I.B. invading small town USA, or a former assassin making her coffee - Darcy Lewis took it all in stride. 

Said alien lands in her town, acting drunk and threatening? Tase his ass.

The M.I.B. steals your boss’ stuff? Hack their servers and dock **their** boss’ pay.

As for the former assassin… 

Well, as far as Darcy was concerned, she deserved all the coffee, not to mention the occasional breakfast in bed for breaking the curse enslaving him. He eventually agreed after getting to know her - and now she had the diamond on her finger to prove it. 

James Buchanan Barnes, her gorgeous and delectable husband-to-be, delivered her coffee and pressed a kiss to her shoulder before striding away to rescue her boss, and fellow alumna, Doctor Jane Foster from the black hole of Science! so she could eat breakfast before she passed out. Brilliant and clever, Jane tended to ignore her body’s warning signals until it was too late. 

Darcy loved the fact that she’d finally gotten an assistant in Jane-watch after all this time. She’d only been herding the woman since her first year at St. Dismas.

Granted, Thor did help - he helped a lot - but the guy was still a prince. He had duties as a prince and as a hero . . . which meant long stretches of time separated from his ladylove. 

Taking another sip of coffee, she watched her fiance managed the wayward scientist for a few minutes before turning back to her own work. She needed to finish getting these numbers into the program so they could run their reports. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, falling into a steady beat as her nails against the keys. 

A ringing phone interrupted her rhythm. 

“What?” she demanded as her eyes remained fixed on her computer screen.

“ _Aut viam inveniam aut faciam._ ”

Her spine snapped straight at the phrase. “I’m listening.”

“My name is Pepper Potts, and I have a proposition for you.” 

“Seriously?” Darcy pulled her phone away to stare at it for a moment. Okay, so there were **some** things that could still surprise her. “You’re really Pepper Potts?”

Soft laughter carried to her and she hurried to put the phone back to her ear. “Yes, I am,” Pepper assured her. 

“Okay, so...wow.” Speechlessness didn’t suit her, but it took a moment or two for her to drag her wits back together. “What can I do for you?”

“I need someone to oversee our science department. We’ve gone through half a dozen lab managers, but none of them seem to be able to handle the . . . variety of personalities.” Pepper sighed, one that held a note of weary exasperation. “I decided enough was enough and called Dame Harkness.”

“And the Headmistress sent you to me?” Darcy chuckled. “Well, I’ve been managing a wayward scientist for awhile now, so I guess I’ve got the experience.” 

“She also mentioned your scientist was one of us?” 

“Jane graduated five years ahead of me,” she confirmed.

“So not only do you have experience at managing a genius scientist, but a St. Dismas scientist?” Hope and satisfaction mingled in Pepper’s voice. “That means you’re the perfect candidate.”

“How many scientists are we talking about?”

“Three.”

Darcy blinked. “Your lab managers couldn’t handle three scientists?”

“Well, I have to admit all of them are . . . difficult in their own ways.”

“Such as?”

“The easiest of them is Dr. Betty Ross,” Pepper sighed. “And she’s one of us.”

“Ah. Now it’s beginning to make sense…”

“Add in Bruce Banner and Tony Stark-”

“Okay, timeout,” Darcy interrupted. “Let me get this straight. You want to put me in charge of five scientists, two of mine and three of yours, made up of _two_ alumna of the most dangerous school on the planet, one guy that the headmistress trusts to teach in said school, as well as a guy with serious anger management issues, and Tony-Frickin’-Stark?”

“Well . . . yes.”

“I’m a witch!” Darcy exclaimed. “Not a miracle worker!”

“You’re a St. Dismas witch,” Pepper corrected. “Trained by one of the most powerful witches in the world.”

“Okay, so there’s that, but…” Her voice trailing off, Darcy looked up as Bucky leaned on her desk. He cocked an eyebrow and she shook her head. “Just how much authority will I have? Can I lock down the labs?”

“Absolutely.” The older woman sounded amused. “I’d insist on that. You’ll also be free to perform a limited use of magic should it prove necessary - such as Tony overriding your lockdown.”

“What about Jane and her work? Because SHIELD’s picking up the bill at the moment, but they’ve got all kinds of non-disclosures and red tape that make Jane crazy. She can’t publish half of what she’s discovering and-.”

“That won’t be a problem with Stark Industries,” Pepper broke in. “Tony hates that kind of thing. He’s already designing a floor for all of you.”

“A floor?”

“Yes, at Stark Tower.”

“We get a whole floor?!?”

The conversation didn’t take too much longer after that. Darcy knew she’d be able to talk Jane into making the switch as soon as she mentioned the freedom to publish. For herself, she looked forward to the challenge . . . plus living in Stark Tower, rent free! She blinked up at her fiance. “We get a whole floor!”

Bucky laughed at her expression, a quiet rumbling sound that made her smile. “A floor of what?”

“Of Stark Tower.” She shook her head. “Five people taking up an entire floor? It’s...it’s insane!”

“Or brilliant,” he countered. 

“Brilliant?”

“Just think, Doll,” he murmured as he leaned towards her. “A whole lot of space just for us - on the opposite side of the floor from Jane and Thor.” He twirled one of her curls around his finger. 

“Hmm...I like the way you think.” She stretched up to meet his kiss, her lips soft and cool beneath the heat of his. Silence reigned for a few minutes as they enjoyed the feel and taste of each other. When she finally sat back, she offered him a happy smile. “Sound-proofed walls, privacy windows…”

"I'll have you all to myself." Bucky trailed his finger down her jaw to tap her chin. He stood up, pulling her with him and wrapping his arms around her. "My little witch."

"And don't you forget it."

**Author's Note:**

>  _Aut viam inveniam aut faciam._ \- I shall either find a way or make one. - a quote from Hannibal, general of Carthage


End file.
